Shit happens for a reason

I always make it a point to have a handkerchief in my left (back or front) pocket everywhere I go.  But one fateful day, I was not able to bring one because all of my hankies are in the laundry.

So when I got to my cubicle at the faculty room, I grabbed a pack of pop-up tissues that has been there for several months already and shoved it into my bag before going to class.  I thought it was the perfect stand-in for my absentee hanky.

In the classroom, as I was running a little late, I immediately set up my computer for Powerpoint.  When I was almost done, my tummy started to feel weird.  And if one knows me, he/she should know that I'm not particularly skilled at holding my bowels.

There was nothing else to do: I had to grab the pack of tissues, put it in my pocket and dashed to the nearest rest room.

That was the first time I was glad I did not have a handkerchief with me.

... all things work together for good to those who love God... - Romans 8:28

School ID Christianity

University of San Carlos (USC) is one of the few schools that still imposes strict policies on wearing uniforms and ID cards.  And probably the first directive the security guards in the campus were given was to implement these policies.  This entry is not a critique on the policies and the guards; it is rather a reflection of how we are as Christians as seen in the analogy of wearing ID cards.

The most common scene at the gates of USC is this: students (on their way into the campus) taking their ID's from their pockets and wearing them; students (on their way out of the campus) taking their ID's off and shoving them into their pockets just a few meters away from the gates.

I can't help but notice certain similarities between this scene and our Christian lives.  Many of us wear our "Christian ID cards" when we are in church.  We don our kind, compassionate, loving, friendly, accommodating selves when we are in church or when we are with our friends from church.  But as soon as we step out of the gates, we take them off and go about our ways.

Let us examine ourselves.  How do we take our identity as Christians.  Do we wear it like an ID card - which we can take off whenever we feel it's not needed anymore?  Or do we wear it like our skins for everyone to see?

Just do it

Just do it.

That is the catchphrase of one of the world’s leading sports apparel brand.  Their store in a mall, just recently, and for quite a long time, put up a big poster of two of their leading endorsers: Kobe and LeBron – two basketball superstars whom fans had hoped to battle it out in the (recent) finals.  They never did.  It seems they just couldn’t do it.

The company, in a way, put their faith on two humans.  Failure of the endorsers to “just do it” may not topple down the company.  But imagine if it was you who put your faith on people and they failed big time.

Put in Christian light, “just do it” is a disposition that entails a lot of faith – faith in God, of course, not in men.  When the first missionaries arrived in Cebu encountered obstacles – the least of which was not having a sanctuary to worship in, they probably said to each other, “Let’s just do it. God will provide.”  When people were pessimistic about reopening the Bradford Memorial Church, citing the unsuitability of the old building for worship services, our church leaders said, “Let’s just do it!”

Sure enough, God provided; just as He did almost a hundred years ago; just as He always does.

So the next time you are doubtful about having enough to do something, just do it.  God is sure to provide the needs of His children.

salt

If you are an inexperienced cook, there's a fairly big chance of you getting the taste wrong. So when making scrambled eggs, chances are that you put in too little or too much salt. My girlfriend puts it this way: if there is too little salt, it's OK, something can still be done even after cooking; but if there's too much salt, there's nothing much that we can do about it.

She's right. And she's got me thinking and reflecting on what Jesus said about us being the salt of the earth. Apparently, if we are too salty - if we exercise what it is to be Christians well, we become far too stringent to most people, to the world.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I dare say it is a good thing.

If Jesus calls us to be the salt of the earth, he calls us to be salty - to be as salty as we can be, in fact. We should spread our salinity like wild fire searing everything in its way.

But that's not all. We should also be adamant, resolved, steadfast. We should never lose our salinity.

Matthew 5:13
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot."

(Un)random chorus

Scribbles on the Sand

Drag me to the Savior’s side

Bring me to where He stands

Where stones and death have no power

My guilt is written on sand

So easily erased by the tides

Of His love

This is a piece I wrote (and rewrote a couple of times) based on the first few verses of John 8:

1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11 “No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Redemption

The Shepherd became the Lamb
To be one with the lost
He came down from His throne
The King of kings, the Host of hosts
And let drip His blood
For those He loves most
That's you and me, brother (and sister)
He bought us at the highest of costs

connect the dots .____.

Today (actually, yesterday) in my mechanics of deformable bodies (strength of materials) class, the topic was shear and moment diagrams. A fair amount of drawing was involved and something that I have been aware of since I started teaching hit me like it never did before. Indeed it is far more difficult to draw freehand a vertical line on a whiteboard than it is to draw a horizontal line; but I never thought I'd draw a reflection out of this observation.

I would take horizontal lines as our connections to our fellowmen. For mere humans like all of us, it generally (and relatively) is easy to establish and maintain these horizontal lines on our own. Vertical lines are our connections to God. Sins have severed these ties. These sins have made it practically impossible for us to draw perfect vertical lines on our own.

The solution is simple. We just let Jesus be our "RULER" - the Ruler of our lives, and our connections to God will be as straight as it should be.

perspectives

(This entry is also published in ridenwrite.blogspot.com)

Yesterday, a recent venture of mine took me to the road which took me to one of the premiere subdivisions in Cebu City - Beverly Hills.

Going to the venue (a function building called the Beverly Pavilion), we passed by big, beautiful houses - the kinds that cost millions to build. Though I was driving and had to follow another vehicle to the venue, and hence, didn't have the luxury of visually exploring the place - I couldn't help but notice these houses. My amazement climaxed when we arrived at our destination - a pavilion nestled on the edge of hill (cliff-ish?) overlooking a ravine and the city.

The cool air and the ambiance quickly took me to a trance-like state as I can't believe I never left the city at all. In fact, I was at the very heart of it. The beauty of the place got me thinking about how much people would pay just to have this view from their balcony; and even how much people would pay just to hold an event in such a place.

From my vantage point, the horizon was blurred by storm clouds and the city seems harmless and serene. I almost got lost in the moment until I refocused my eyes on the immediate surrounding. I can't believe I missed the shanties dotting the other side of the ravine.

I wondered: if one of the houses near the pavilion was mine, would I be able to look out the window every morning knowing what "disturbing realities" await right outside?

Then it hit me: looking at reality (and life) straight in the face boils down to one thing - perspective.

One can look at the "shanties of life" - realities that often bring us down; one can look to city and its lights - mesmerizing escapes that are often just around the corner; one can look at the horizon and get lost in the tug-of-war between earth and sky; or one can look up - to God, have faith, and see that the sourness of reality is indiscernible in the sweetness of His love.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18

¹⁷ For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ¹⁸ So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

early taste of summer

For God and Country

When I got the message inviting me to speak in this joyous occasion, I was trembling. I do not know exactly why. Maybe I was scared. I have never spoken to this big a crowd before. Maybe I was excited. I would be lying if I tell you that the thought of speaking to the graduating class of our beloved JBI never crossed my mind. In fact, it did. I just never thought it would be this soon – just 11 years after my own graduation.

But recognizing that it was such a privilege, a great chance to share what I have learned in the relatively short span of 11 years, I humbly accepted the offer.

So, here I am.

It was not too long ago when I was in your shoes, so I know you guys are still in a “seventh heaven” state right now. You feel like you are on top of the world; you feel like a warrior who has just won his toughest fight yet. But let a few weeks pass and reality will start to hit you. Before you know it, you are faced with various choices – some of them are just waiting to be made; others may be the only ones you have; others still may have been made for you.
No, I’m not going to tell you what choices to make. I am not going to help you answer the question, “What do I do now?” That would be unfair because the circumstances I had when I was you may be far different. Rather, I would like to help you answer a far more important question: “What do I do with what I have?”

Wait, do you know what you now have? Each of you now has under your belt what I would call a Bethelian education, the same one that I have. Some of you will continue to gain more education, some may not; but wherever you find yourself in the next few months or years, and even for the rest of your lives, I urge you to use what you have gained from our beloved school.

The scripture reference of today’s celebration is found in James 1:25, which says,"But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act – they will be blessed in their doing."

The measure of how we fair as Christians is how we apply what we read from the scriptures. And it would seem that a similar yardstick is used to see how much we have learned academically.

And for you who are recipients of not just any education but a Christian education and a good one I may add, that yardstick is quite long. You are expected to reflect just that in your daily lives. Wherever you are and whatever you do, if indeed you have learned something, it should shine through.

Quality education therefore dear graduates, is not what is given to you. It is what you make out of what you are given.

Just as learning is an unending process, education does not end on graduation day. The first part of education, which is instruction, may end when you leave the classroom, but the next part, which is application, is just about to get serious.

Continued Responsiveness in Delivering Quality Education amidst Global Changes – this is today’s theme. At first look, it seems to be addressed to just the teachers, the mentors. But it is actually addressed to you graduates, and to all of us. The responsibility of delivering quality education falls on us all.

How do we deliver quality education? – by being doers who act. We impart our knowledge to the people around us by applying to our daily lives what we have received, what we have learned.

I would like to give an analogy to this. And what better example can we have than the heroes of the Bible. Noah is a good example of what it is to be a doer. Noah received instructions from God to build an ark. Can you imagine what would have happened if Noah never set out to build the ark? Nobody would have been saved from the flood. More importantly, we would never know how Noah responded to the instructions of God.

In the same way, if you don’t apply what you have learned, people will never know if you ever learned anything at all – you yourself will never know if you have learned anything at all.

I am fond of big words – words that most people do not know or use. So, as much as I can, I improve my vocabulary. And how do I know that I have indeed learned new words or expressions? It is never enough to know what they mean. It is even not enough to know how these words came to be – their etymologies. It is when I find the perfect opportunity, in a free conversation, to use the words that I know I have learned them.

Let us now revisit the Parable of the Talents? (Matthew 25:14, ff) Three servants were given by their master different amount of talents each according to their abilities. The two of them used their talents and gained more talents. While the other one, did not, in any way, make use of the talent that was given to him. And we all know what happened next. To those who have, more will be given; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.

Be doers, act and be rewarded in your doing.

So that’s it. Apply, use, capitalize on what you have – on what you have learned. That is the only way to do it.

And you may say, “Ok, now what?”

Dear graduates, it doesn’t end there. There is an even greater question that you all need to ask yourselves. And the question is: “To what end shall I use the things I have learned?” “To what purpose shall I use the things I have learned?”

When I was on my first or second year in high school, my dad left me a gift for my birthday. He could not give it to me personally because he works in Cagayan de Oro and my birthday was on a weekday. My mom was the one who handed me the gift and said that there is a message that goes along with it and that I should read the message first because it’s a clue as to what’s inside.

The message was in fact a passage from the Bible: Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).

And the gift was a flashlight – a very cool one, I might add.

I’m not going to talk about my flashlight; I’ll focus more on the verse. That verse has been one of my favorites since then. And that verse is what I would like you to answer to the question with.

Everything you do should bring glory to God. Use your skills, talents and education to that end, to that purpose and all things will fall into place.

There is nothing more to it. It’s as straightforward as that. Do whatever you do for God.

If there is another purpose for using the best of our abilities and offering the best of who we are, it should be that we do what we do for our country. And this is where I would solicit your support, your hearts the most. For many of our countrymen have forgotten or worse, blatantly neglect the fact that we are Filipinos. And our responsibility as a people is towards the Philippines.

There is no doubt that our first priority is to please the Lord our God in everything we do. But the immediate second should be that we should serve our country. These two responsibilities are closely linked to each other. How?

Let us remember that, during the Old Testament times, God did not only reveal His glory and grace to a person, nor to a family; He revealed Himself to a nation. “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you” (Gen 12:2a) was God’s promise to Abraham, the father of our faith. It was to and through this nation that God made Himself known – He blessed them as a nation and, at many times, punished them as a nation.

Our being Filipinos, our nationality, is probably the most visible, tangible will of God in our lives. We honor His by serving our country.

In the near future, you will have your own families to uphold, companies to run and jobs to do. But never forget that you have a country to serve.

Do you know the story of Nehemiah? Nehemiah is of course a person who lived during the Old Testament times. During his time, the Jews were defeated by the Babylonians and were brought to exile in Babylonia. And then came the Persians and defeated the Babylonians. Could you just imagine the predicament the Jewish people were in during that time? While many of the Jews were allowed to go back to Jerusalem, some were made to serve the Persian king in Babylonia and Nehemiah was one of them.

Nehemiah was the cup bearer of the king. As such, he was trusted by the king with his life. So he probably had the most luxurious life among the Jews in Babylonia. But then Nehemiah heard news that his country was literally broken – the walls of the city were broken down and the gates where destroyed by fire.

During the time, the walls protect the city from all threats from outside. Moreover, these walls keep the people united. A city with broken walls is like a naked person – shamed and defenseless.

Upon hearing this sad news, Nehemiah mourned for this people and cried out to God for help.
But he never stopped there. He set out on a journey back to his country and on a mission to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and reestablish the unity of his people.

Dear graduates, you, and all of us, should be like Nehemiah. You may live luxurious lives; but do not get lost in the comforts; never lose heart for your country. In your own little ways, honor God and serve our country, the Philippines.

At this point, I would like to ask: “Are you proud to be Filipino?”

Why?

If you point to the conquests of Manny Pacquiao or of Charice Pempengco as the source of Filipino pride, then my dear friends, you have fallen short of being Filipinos. Our source of pride as a country, as a people should lie within ourselves. Let us work together such that everything we do, and everything we are, would honor the country God has blessed us with.

Start with simple gestures. Follow traffic rules. Throw wastes properly. Be involved in the comings and goings of the country. In time, you will find ways to honor the Philippines in your own ways.

I dream of the day when Filipinos no longer have to point to someone else if asked, "Why are you proud to be Filipino?" I dream of the day that for each one of us, everything we do and everything we are are the very core from which Filipino pride radiates.

To end, let’s reflect on the words of Jesus himself found in Matthew 7:24 and following:

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell – and great was its fall!

This is another of my top favorite verses. I can so relate to it because I am an engineer – a builder. For us engineers, for any structure – be it a house, a tall building or a bridge, it is not what you see on the outside that is important. It is the foundation – what is deep within, what you do not see with your eyes, that is important. And the general rule is that the bigger, the grander the structure is, the firmer should be the foundation.

So graduates, be doers and not just hearers. Use what you have learned for God and country!

Build your futures, and in turn build this country up, on the only foundation that cannot be shaken – God.

Once again, congratulations. May God bless us all.

Me in His Tree

It was me by His Tree

Taking refuge, whilst being free

Shielded from the glare

Unfazed by the wind

Splashing in the water

Satisfied from within

Now, it’s me in His Tree

Taking in others, setting them free

Shielding from the glare

Barring the wind

Keeping in the water

Bidding, “Come, jump in.”

This was the unofficial "carrier poem" of CYAF's involvement in Bradford's Ministry Fair 2010, in November of last year.

The title, which was the drive of CYAF is a play of words: MINISTRY ---> ME IN HIS TREE

It tells of our growth, or aspiration to grow, from being blessed to becoming blessings to others.

Stop-motion animation

I received this plastic model of a gundam for my 19th birthday. I figured it's from an animated series so why not animate it? This right here is my first and only (so far) shot at stop-motion animation, or at animation for that matter.

(This video was made in late 2003 or early 2004. The pictures were taken with my long-dead Fujifilm 402 compact digital camera. The animation was done with Macromedia Flash.)

(Almost) cover story

This was supposed to be the cover story of UCCP Bradford's "Acts 16:9" Sunday Bulletin on CYAF Sunday 2010.

Tipping the First Tile

The Bradford Christian Young Adults’ Fellowship (CYAF) believes that care, if done right, will have a “domino effect" in the community.

Domino effect does not work on one tile only, not even with a few tiles. It works best if there are several tiles. In the same way, care is best seen at work in the community.

However, the beauty and wonder we see in the successive knocking over of several tiles starts with one push. Even after all the hard work involved in setting up the tiles, it still needs that one push to make it all happen. That one push is often something we find so hard to do for others. The fear or reluctance of doing that one push often makes us give up on caring for others.

And we are all called to care for others.

Let us all, by God’s grace, be bold enough to make that one push and start the domino effect of love and care in the community.

One might argue that he/she is not fit or built for caring and point to someone else to do it. It is valuable to note that arranging domino tiles in order to achieve the “domino effect” is not in any way connected to the game for which the tiles where made. “Domino effect” is a product of resourcefulness and of thinking out of the box. Caring for others should not be so different at all.

a shrimpy reflection

The following article is the cover story of the Feb 6 2011 issue of Acts 16:9.

I had shrimp sinigang for dinner the other night. Yum!

Shrimp, as well as crab and lobster, is arguably the best produce from the sea (or rivers). That is why it is among the top of everyone’s “my favorite food” list. That is why parties run out of shrimp before they do any other dish. That is why it is so expensive.

If there is one drawback in the whole shrimp thing, it is the need to use both hands to get the shell off – you would have to have shrimp matter in your nails; and the smell does not come off easy. I remember my brother saying he loves crab and shrimp; he just doesn’t want to go through the whole process of taking the meat out of the shell.

As members of the Christian community, many of us do not bother to get involved in the little details of Christian life. We don’t bother attending Bible studies and Sunday school. We don’t fellowship with others in the different organizations and ministries. Maybe we just want the brand name – we just want the shrimp meat.

We do not see that, just as having to remove by hand the shell before actually eating the shrimp is half the experience, getting involved and fellowshipping is half of what it means to be part of the faith community. The only way to enjoy shrimp is hands-on experience; the only way to enjoy being a Christian is hands-on experience.

Be a full-time member of Christ’s church. Be involved.